Dining by Design, a traveling show that isn’t part of the AD Home Design Show but coincides with and has shared space with it for the last three years, is a collection of more than 40 “dining environments” — or tablescapes, if you will … Sandra Lee, eat your heart out — ranging from fabulously garish to elegantly minimalist to downright hideous.

This year’s Dining by Design installations were all pretty over-the-top (but I suppose that’s the point) and I found myself most drawn to one of the more restrained displays that revolved around the theme “Inspiring Afterlife.” Produced by friend of MNN, Coca-Cola, and designed and curated by art director and set designer Stefan Beckman, the installation was entirely encased in a prismatic dome from Lumicor made from recycled glass with recycled aluminum framework.

On the table — itself made from recycled glass — were recycled glass dinner plates from Greenfeet.com, recycled glass salad plates from Fire & Light, and recycled glass stemware from Japanese firm Ishizuka. The scene’s flooring was TafiPan, a NAUF particleboard made from 100 percent recycled wood residues and the lighting consisted of gorgeous recycled Coke bottle globes hand-blown by Wolf Art Glass. And because this is a dining room installation, chairs played a big part of the design. Naturally, the table was flocked by one of my favorite home furnishing designs to emerge in 2010: 111 Navy Chairs, the product of Coca-Cola’s recent collaboration with old school, eco-friendly chair manufacturer, Emeco. Each 111 Navy Chair is made from 111 recycled plastic Coke bottles.

Simply lovely and a great, green antidote to the excessively lavish displays dominating the exhibition. Although Pepsi may have the upper hand in the plant-based plastic bottle department, Coke simply can't be, ahem, beat when it comes to eco-friendly dining room design. Anyone else attend Dining by Design NY/The AD Home Design Show and have a favorite installation?